大乘法苑義林章 3.12

3.12

諸宗不同者，順世外道說：一切法皆以地水火風四大為性，由此五根體即四大。勝論師說：眼根即火、耳根即空、鼻根即地、味根即水、皮根即風。五大俱是實句所攝，堅、濕、𤏙、動皆性無礙，德句所攝。眼唯得三，但除風大。身根得四，亦得堅等。數論師說：自性成大，大成我執，我執成五唯，五唯成五大，五大成十一根。有說：火成眼根，空成耳根，地造鼻根，水成舌根，風造皮根。心根有二說：一說是肉團，唯地大造，或五大共造。一說：非色。其六根中，耳唯無礙，說心根非色者亦無礙，餘皆有礙，皆性是常。大眾部等，體即四塵，肉團為性，無別淨色，不能取境。稍勝餘色，故名清淨。薩婆多師，別有四大，生等五因為因緣，造眼等五根。大唯身觸。根雖和集，竝實有體。成實論師名師子胄，本於數論法中出家，因立彼義云：四塵成四大，四大成五根。經部師說：根雖所造，然通假實。極微是實，麁是假故。說假部說：亦通假實，在蘊門實，界處假故。一說部說：根唯有名，都無色體。說出世部說：有漏根假，無漏根實。今依大乘中，略有四釋，出體門中當具顯示。

Regarding the differences among the various schools: The Lokāyata non-Buddhists say that all dharmas take the four primary elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—as their nature; hence the five faculties are in their essence simply the four primary elements. The Vaiśeṣikas say: the eye faculty is fire; the ear faculty is space; the nose faculty is earth; the taste faculty is water; the skin faculty is wind. The five primary elements are all subsumed under the category of substance (dravya); solidity, moisture, heat, and motion are all inherently non-obstructive and are subsumed under the category of quality (guṇa). The eye obtains only three, excluding only the wind element. The body faculty obtains four, and also obtains solidity and the rest. The Sāṃkhyas say: the primal nature forms the great (mahat); the great forms the 'I'-maker (ahaṃkāra); the 'I'-maker forms the five subtle elements (tanmātra); the five subtle elements form the five primary elements (mahābhūta); the five primary elements form the eleven faculties (indriya). Some say: fire forms the eye faculty, space forms the ear faculty, earth produces the nose faculty, water forms the tongue faculty, and wind produces the skin faculty. Regarding the mind faculty there are two explanations: one says it is a fleshly mass produced solely by the earth element, or produced collectively by the five primary elements; another says it is non-material. Among those six faculties, only the ear is unobstructed; for those who say the mind faculty is non-material, it too is unobstructed; the remainder are all obstructed, and all are eternal by nature. The Mahāsāṃghikas and others hold that their essence is simply the four dusts, with the fleshly mass as their nature; there is no distinct clear matter, and they cannot grasp objects. Being slightly superior to other matter, they are called clear. The Sarvāstivādins hold that there are distinct four primary elements which, through the five causes of production and so forth acting as cause and condition, produce the five faculties, the eye and the rest. The primary elements are solely tangible objects of the body. Although the faculties are aggregations, they are all real entities. The author of the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra was named Harivarman; he originally went forth in the Sāṃkhya tradition, and based on this established his doctrine, saying: the four dusts form the four primary elements, and the four primary elements form the five faculties. The Sautrāntikas say: although the faculties are derived, they nonetheless apply to both the provisional and the real; subtle atoms are real, whereas the coarse is provisional. The Prajñaptivādins say: they also apply to both the provisional and the real; within the aggregate gate they are real, while in the realm and base gates they are provisional. The Ekavyāvahārikas say: the faculties are merely nominal, completely lacking any material entity. The Lokottaravādins say: defiled faculties are provisional, while undefiled faculties are real. Now, according to the Mahāyāna, there are briefly four explanations, which will be fully demonstrated in the section on identifying their essential nature.